Expedition To Egypt
by deathroman13
Summary: Arno is send along with Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in order to find out the true political motivations of the young general. Once in Egypt however, things turn complicated when a piece of Eden shows up. Napoleon gets dragged into the assassin's world as he allies himself with Arno to stop the Templars from obtaining the object.
1. Chapter 1

Expedition To Egypt

Hello dear readers, the fanfiction world is severly lacking fanfictions about Arno and Napoleon, so I have decided to write one. I hope you enjoy.

Summary: Arno is send along with Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in order to find out the true political motivations of the young general. Once in Egypt however, things turn complicated when a piece of Eden shows up. Napoleon gets dragged into the assassin's world as he allies himself with Arno to stop the Templars from obtaining the object.

Chapter 1

It was a pleasant night in May when Arno was summoned to the council of master assassins right in the heart of Paris. Several years have passed since the revolution struck the city, throwing down a curtain of blood through the streets. Four years since that night in the temple where Elise lost her life. Oh how Arno fervently wished to turn back time, to just have been there before tragedy struck.

But no, there is no way back anymore. He had moved on, even though with a black hole in his heart. His work for the creed had slowed down significantly since 1794. He had been busy setting up networks all throughout Europe, new assassins had to be trained and guided. This work was more satisfactory for Arno than taking lives. The only reason why he started to kill, was in order to avenge the death of Elise's father. But since it became no longer a need to avenge, Arno lost most of his appetite to kill. No, training and guiding new assassins suited him much better.

Arno moved up the cold marble stairways inside the order's hideout, a magnificent underground space hidden underneath a local tavern, also owned by the assassins, and walked towards the chamber where the meeting would be held. The floor in the hallway was covered with an elaborate carpet which reminded Arno of the many palaces he broke into as a young adult. He opened the door and entered the richly furbished room, already occupied by the elder assassins, and took a seat on the chair nearest to the door. He never felt fully at ease in the company of these master assassins. Especially not since he was once banned from the creed and even murdered one of the elders, his own mentor nonetheless, it didn't make him very popular amongst his fellow assassins.

"Bonsoir, madame et messieurs" Arno greeted them politely.

"Ah, it's good to see you again Arno," a female assassin replied. "We know you have been busy with training our latest recruits but we need your skills, and more importantly, your knowledge for this particular matter as soon as possible."

Arno frowned, "I wasn't under the impression you would consider me more knowledgeable on certain matters besides handling a blade. Weren't you the one who acussed me of not being able to use my brain properly?"

The elder assassin chuckled softly before continuing. "Oh I remember very well Arno but it has come to my attention that you are familiar with a certain person who is at this moment gaining an incredible amount of popularity amongst the general public. His recent campaign in Italy has, quite frankly, concerned us for the future of France. The directory itself is greatly troubled, certain members are deeply worried that a coup is imminent. These members are closely involved in our creed and movements, so we have no choice but to take an action. "

"Wait, you are talking about Général Napoleon Bonaparte aren't you?. Yes I have met him several times in the past few years, he was actually quite helpful in aiding the order by locating some of my targets. I know he's very confident about himself and his abilities but how could he possibly be a threat to our creed?"

"Yes, we have heard that he provided you with aid. And we've also heard you aided him in several matters in return yes? This makes you the perfect person for this task. He most likely trusts you so that is already half of the task done."

"Why does this matter at all?" Arno asked in confusion. "What is it exactly that you want me to do?"

"Well his recent popularity leads us to believe that he will play an important role in the near future of France. We do not know his intentions, neither do we know who he is affiliated with. For all we know, he could be in the pocket of the Templars, he might be an influential templar himself! Leaked reports from the directory suggest that the général will go on an expedition to Egypt very soon."

"Oh really? Arno replied rather sarcastic. "Are you asking me to kill him before he leaves? You think I am best suited for this task because I know him?" Arno's voice increased in volume as his anger starts to rise. "So it will be easier to get close and stick a blade between his ribs? Is that how we are dealing with anyone with just a bit of popularity? I thought the paranoia ended with Robbespiere's reign!"

The elder sighed and started to look quite irritated. "Arno you have always been a thorn in our side since the day you joined our order. Always disobeying our orders, acting out of your own will rather than to follow our instructions, it has already cost the lives of several close to you. I know life hasn't been exactly kind to you these past few years but I want you to listen to me now. No, we do not want this général Bonaparte dead but we want you to join his expedition to Egypt in order to find out what his exact true intentions are. We want to know why he wants to go to Egypt so suddenly.

To be honest with you here Arno, there are suspicions that Egypt holds several ancient artifacts. You know from experience that these must definitely not fall into the wrong hands. Imagine a templar wielding the power of the ancients! We want to be completely sure that this Bonaparte has no connections to the Templar order so you are going to accompany him on his excursion and keep an eye on him. If you come by any of these mysterious artifacts, I want you to collect them and bring them back here for examination. And if you discover that he is indeed a templar, I hope you can still use that wrist blade of yours."

Arno chuckled. "You want me to have a nice long vacation in a exotic country in order to shadow a general in the desert, while collecting incredibly powerful artifacts to satisfy your own curiousity?"

"Is there a problem with the mission we've just assigned you with Arno?" another elder assassin inside the chamber replied.

"Oh no not at all, I would love to go and explore Egypt, go play around in the sand." Arno replied with even more sarcasm in his voice.

"Very well, then it is settled. We have already arranged a place for you on his expedition as an assistant to his own personal security. This way you have no trouble staying close to him and find out what his intentions exactly are. We do not exactly know the date of departure so I suggest you quickly visit him, you do not want to miss your spot on this expedition."

Arno got up from his chair and turned towards the door. "I do hope this creed still knows what it is doing." With that he left through the door and made his way back to the streets. I can't believe the creed is making me travel to Egypt, he thought to himself. In any case it is a nice opportunity to get better acquainted with the général. It has been three years after all since he last saw him, before he was assigned the campaign in Italy. Three years don't seem like much but a lot can happen in that time span.

Arno could still clearly remember the last time he saw Napoleon, still a Lieutenant. Polite but ferm with his actions, it isn't hard to understand why people adore him so. Not only does he know how to charm the ones around him, he is also a gifted military man who can turn almost any battle to his advantage. He wasn't however very experienced dealing with women. Arno helped Napoleon with his fiance Désirée, but that ended in a disaster for the young Lieutenant. Apparently she had fallen for his assistant, captain Bernadotte. The whole scandal caused quite a ruckus and that was the last time Arno spoke with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning Arno made his way towards Napoleon's mansion. It wasn't very difficult finding out where he lived because the whole street has now been named after him. Arno decided to climb the walls in order to enter the building through an open window that he spotted. He thought it probably wasn't very effective to just knock on the door, there were too many guards patrolling this street for Arno's liking. Arno skillfully scaled the wall, it almost seemed like a natural instinct to spot each little ledge which helped him climb up. Once inside the house, he carefully snuck around, peeking inside each chamber as he passed them by, trying to find the general. It didn't take long for Arno to find the room with Napoleon inside, the door was partially open of the chamber at the end of the hall.

Arno was never the type to knock on a door and wait patiently for an answer. He entered through the door and slipped inside without alerting the occupant. He closed the door rather harshly on purpose and made his way towards the desk near the window where the general was seated. The thud of the door alerted Napoleon, who quickly turned his head in alarm but relaxed again when he saw Arno.

"Ah good morning mon ami. It has been quite a while since we last spoke. I must say that your presence here startled me, I wasn't expecting any visitors at the moment. May I ask why you broke inside my study chambers instead of just knocking on the front door like all civilized people do?"

Arno stood beside the desk and chuckled. "Well with all these guards of you wondering about and with your recent popularity in this city, I wasn't so sure they would even let me in. I couldn't take any chances so I just invited myself inside."

Napoleon shook his head. "Have you come to reconsider my offer to join the army? Now that I am leading all the armed land forces, it would be easy for you to join up. You would be a marshall in no time I can assure you."

"You know that I am not very keen on following orders Napoleon, besides I am here on another business but I suppose it does involve your army this time. "

"Who is it exactly whom you are working for?" Napoleon asked curiously. "Are you here to trace more enemies of yours? If you are, I am not so sure if I can help you this time. It wouldn't be very wise to point you towards the people you want to kill without me knowing who ordered them dead. It could seriously damage my reputation and therefore my own safety."

Arno sat down on a chair next to the desk and replied. "Ah no I am not on a warpath this time, I am afraid I have to disappoint you. No, I have heard from reliable sources that you are planning on going to Egypt very soon and I have come here to join your expedition."

Napoleon looked confused. "How on earth did you know about this? I have done everything in my power to keep the whole expedition a secret, not even my own men know the destination. Once the word gets out, the British would probably do anything to stop us. Why would you want to go to Egypt anyway?"

"Well let's say it doesn't matter at this moment who provided me with this information. I have orders to be part of your own personal security." Arno produced a paper from his coat and handed it over to Napoleon who looked even more confused as he accepted the paper from Arno's hand.

Napoleon inspected the document and sighed. "So the directory themselves sent you here to be my personal guard on this expedition. This is quite a curious development to be honest. I wasn't aware that they were so concerned about my personal safety, no quite the contrary, I am expecting an assassination attempt at any moment." Arno's eyes flickered at the word assassination but he kept quiet as Napoleon continued to investigate the paper. "Very well then Arno, it's fortunate that we are already acquainted because of all the men that the directory could have sent, I would only trust you."

Arno smiled and sat up straight. "I'm flattered. So it's settled then General, when do we set sail?"

"Meet me at the docks of Marseille at the end of next week. My men are already there preparing for the expedition. I'll be leaving in two days to Marseille, once I set all my affairs in this city in order." Napoleon replied while returning the document to Arno.

"Speaking of affairs, how is married life going for you Napoleon? I heard you quickly became engaged with a woman called Josephine after Captain Bernadotte left with Desireé."

Napoleon sighed and reclined back in his seat. "Well it definitely isn't like how the old classical stories love to portray it. It's mostly just frustration, begging my wife to travel along with me but she seems to be enjoying other matters..." Napoleon's thoughts trailed off.

"Are you alright general? Arno replied looking slightly concerned.

"I'm fine Arno thank you, one of the reasons why I am so keen to leave now is to just be away from all the mess in this city. A refreshing start of a new campaign far away from Paris is exactly what I need right now. It's not that my wife will miss me during my absence so that will be the least of my concerns. Anyway I hope you read up your knowledge on Egypt, if you are going to be my personal guard I expect you to be at least aware of current political situations in Egypt. The Mamelukes are an old but powerful force to be reckoned with. Although they won't be a match against my men but I still would like to be as prepared as I can possible be."

Arno chuckled, "Always the military commander aren't you? Anyways I don't think it's foreign armies you need to be concerned with this time I am afraid."

"What do you mean with that Arno?" Napoleon asked confused.

"Well, let's just say that there are greater powers pulling the strings at this moment. Don't worry my friend, I'll do anything in my power to keep you safe general." Arno smiled and stood up from his chair. He amically shook hands with Napoleon and made his way back to the hallway.

"Arno, would you mind taking the door this time?" Napoleon asked

"As you wish general." Arno replied. Arno made his way through the hall towards the staircase and descended down. A servant appeared at the door and opened it for him. Arno thanked the servant and exited the building back on the busy streets of Paris again. This whole trip could turn out to be quite interesting, Arno thought to himself. The distance between Arno's hideout and Napoleon's mansion wasn't very far, within an hour Arno was back again in the attic of the tavern, which hid the underground Assassin's quarters.

The attic was an absolute mess when Arno first set foot in it several years ago, but now it has been richly furbished with shelves full of books on almost any topic you could imagine. The floors were covered with exotic carpets from the East and there were plenty of paintings inside, some of which were saved from the fury of the revolution.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

One whole week has passed since Arno had been given his assignment to join Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. Arno arrived in the southern French city of Marseille on a sunny morning. The weather had been quite nice, barely any clouds covered the sky. He never had the chance to fully explore this city, he had been here only once before on official assassin business. He wouldn't have the chance to explore the place this time either, Napoleon's fleet was already shipped and ready for departure.

Arno reached the docks a short while later and saw that it was packed with people everywhere. Most of them seemed in quite an hurry, running around with cargo and food. Arno set about to search for Napoleon who must be somewhere around here. He made his way towards the flagship, l'orient, which was docked at the largest pier of Marseille's port. The l'orient was a massive ship with 114 cannons, it's size was sure impressive and worthy of the title of flagship. No one seemed to pay attention to Arno as he climbed the gangway to board the vessel. Arno entered the ship and sighed, this will be my home for a few weeks I suppose, he thought to himself.

He made his way for the captain's quarters, if there is one place where Napoleon would spent his time on this vessel, it was going to be in the finest spot of the ship Arno thought. He knocked on the door at the stern of the vessel and was greeted by none other than Napoleon. The quarters behind him looked quite luxerious, even for a ship of this magnitude. Arno could see beautiful furniture behind the general, a chair decorated with expensive fabrics, a painting of Marquis de Lafayette on the wall next to the bed and several chests which seemed to be stuffed with books.

"Ah Arno, good of you to make it here on time for departure mon ami. Everything is ready, all the supplies are stored and the men are shipped." Napoleon spoke quite enthousiastically and fast.

"It seems like you're in a good mood general. I just hope you don't get seasick." Arno teased.

Napoleon frowned, "Well actually, to be completely truthful with you, I can't stand travelling over water. The previous time that I travelled across the Mediterranean, when I had to leave my home island behind, I spent a good time being ill on deck. Anyways, I try not to think of it much. I have brought plenty enough books with me to read and a comfortable chamber in the captain's quarters might help to. The idea alone of being far away from this political powder keg for a while, comforts me as well."

Arno grinned. "I see you have prepared every little detail of this trip. If you do get sick, make sure you throw up over the railing of the ship with the wind in your back."

"Don't worry about me, my friend." Napoleon replied heartingly. "This expedition will be remembered in the coming next centuries, I am sure of this!"

The order of departure was given at the end of the morning and slowly but surely ships left the harbour, embarking on a long but exotic journey towards the ancient land of the Pharaohs. The large fleet managed to set sail without any serious problems, nor were they detected by the British who left the coasts of Marseille only a few days before, thinking that the fleet had already set sail. It seemed as though Fortuna herself watched out over them. No complications arose the next two weeks on sea as they made their way to the old templar island of Malta.

As much as Arno was aware, the templar's presence on Malta was virtually non-existent. The magnificent medieval forts on the island were once used to shelter the templars who made their way to the holy cities, no doubt in search of means to control the holy land. Arno was staring blankly towards the calm sea from the upper deck, when the contours of the old forts slowly started to appear above the horizon.

"Terre en vue!" A sailor shouted from above in one of the ship's many masts. It seemed as if the whole ship came to live that instant. Sailors started appearing from everywhere and Napoleon appeared on deck as well, looking rather sickly, to gaze at the land now appearing in front of them.

"Thank God we almost made it to Malta." Napoleon spoke softly as he now stood besides Arno. "I can't wait to get off this accursed ship and finally feel solid ground beneath my feet."

Arno couldn't help but feel slightly bad for the General. Soon after departure, two weeks ago, Napoleon did indeed become seasick and spent almost all of his time sick in bed in his quarters. Arno himself had no troubles being on sea for a prolonged period of time. He didn't exactly have experience sailing before but apparantly he had natural sea legs.  
"What are you planning to do on Malta exactly, General?" Arno asked.

"Oh we won't be staying here for long. This island is a true relic of the medieval ages, there are sure riches that we can take along for our trip to Egypt, Riches we need in order to pay for the troops and supplies. I want to abolish the templar order which still officially rules the island. There is no need for these medieval organisations anymore in this modern age. No, liberté et egalité will do them much good. I want to ban slavery and change Malta into a modern society based on France's own revolutionary morals."

Arno's eyes settled on Napoleon after he heard him talk about the templars. With a bit of surprise in his voice he asked, "What do you know of the templar order on this island exactly?"

"Why, I know that they are an ancient order of people who are now completely useless. They still use the feudal system to rule this land, can you believe this? No the templars here might have served their purpose during the crusades but honestly, who still needs medieval religious societies these days?" Napoleon replied.

"Hmmm, that is interesting.." Arno moved his eyes back towards the sea again.

"What do you mean? Why do you seem to be so curious about an ancient useless relic such as the templar order?" Napoleon replied with a slight confusion in his voice.

"It's nothing, not important just like you said, I was just wondering." Arno answered but his thoughts seemed to be going elsewhere. What a coincidence how the general knows about the templar order, but it doesn't seem like he knows about the true intentions behind their order. It was a strange coincidence that he mentioned ancient relics as well. Arno decided not to tell anything about his true purpose yet as it seemed safer for Napoleon, and for France, to be left in the dark about these matters. If Arno happened to come across such a precursor relic in Egypt, he would just try to keep the information to himself. There is no need to make Napoleon aware of these magical relics, it would probably just give the assassin's creed more reasons to make him a target.

Just as Napoleon promised, he abolished the feudal system as soon as they reached Malta. The inhabitants of the island didn't seem to be in a mood to defend their home so the fleet could dock without any problems. The promise of freedom and new opportunities swayed the locals to the French side and many of the freed slaves, mainly Turkish galley rowers, decided to join the expedition to Egypt. Napoleon could use the extra helping hands, besides, some of these freed slaves had valuable knowledge on the current conditions of Egypt. After a stop of two weeks, the fleet set out to sail again towards their main goal, Egypt. From Malta it was only a relative short distance left.


End file.
